I somehow find myself wanting more and more of my lawn for gardens. Funny thing, that.
The basic idea is that it's going to take a few years for the new garden areas to be any good, so there's no reason to go nuts on it trying to get it ready.
The drill I've got down is to start in the previous fall. Start out by digging down into the turf and cutting it up into squares. Flip the squares upside down. Sow the new dirt with clover (I'm a big fan of clover). Pick up in February (now, as it turns out). Turn the stuff over again and then cover the whole area over in nasty black plastic.
Why the plastic?
It kills weeds. I leave it on about a month, and it wipes out anything approaching weed status underneath. I suspect it does awful things to the ecosystem in the soil. If anybody out there can give me solid information on what it does, let me know. But it does kill the weeds.
For the next couple of years, I'll be planting enthusiastic growers. This plot is set up for potatoes. Potatoes have another big advantage. They'll make me dig up the earth again and mix it all up some more.
Mix, plant, add compost, add cover crops, do this for a couple of years and I should have something pretty good.
Note to self: look into lasagna gardening to see how it works out.
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